The Longest Road
by weiss kittyn
Summary: AU. Omi is a rejected slave, and Nagi and Schuldig pick him up and fix him. Omi's journey from Slavehood to a real life, and finding love along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Nameless. Written for ProdigyBombay on Gaia. co-written with YamiKitsune

-  
He trembled under the force of his masters anger. It was very rarely that he 'screwed up' but accidents did happen, and this one wasn't his fault. But he was getting punished for it anyway. 

"You're USELESS! What good is a slave who breaks things! Omi! I have no more use for you. You are trash!" Omi's eyes widened. To be told that you were trash was the worst thing that could have possibly happened. It meant that you were completely incapable of working, and to a slave who knew nothing else, it meant certain death. 

Not death as Humans would see it, but death nonetheless. Omi was an android, a human-like machine. He had the brain of a computer, and was completely synthetic, but still needed to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom, and could learn to feel. The only thing he'd ever learned was Fear. Fear of displeasing Master, fear of failing, fear of dying...

His worst fear was coming true. He'd dropped to his knees and was begging before he realized it. "NO! Please, Master, give me another chance! I will prove to you that I am worth your time! Please! Please don't send me away!"

His master turned around, and planted a foot on his shoulder, knocking him backwards. "Get out, trash." Omi ran from the house. 

He was wearing everything he owned; two pairs of pants, two shirts, a pair of socks, and a pair of shoes. None of it was in very good condition, but it was getting cold out, and the house was cold, too. He had a locket, from his first master, but his first master had died long ago. Slaves didn't die. Not from old age, or sickness, though they could get sick, and could also grow. Slaves died from broken hearts, losing the will to go on. He also knew that his body would stop functioning without food and water, and it might not work if it got too cold. Shivering, he knocked on a few doors. They all opened warmly, and began to offer food and shelter, but when they saw his barcode - the symbol of his slave status - the door was slammed in his face. 

He found the warmest alleyway he could, and curled up for the night. -  
He woke up the next morning so cold he could barely move. It was painful to stretch his legs out, and start walking again, but he had no other choice. 

Days later, he was weak with exhaustion and hunger, but he had found no where to stop. Slaves were the dirty little secret that everyone knew everyone else kept. According to law, slavery was inhumane, and wrong, but that was when the factories began building 'fake humans' for slaves. They built them too well.

A runaway slave was an outcast, and it didn't matter why he or she'd run away. Omi began dreaming. At first, only at night, so it didn't bother him. It kept him warmer on the icily dry nights. But when he started dreaming during the day, he began to become afraid. He would be walking, staring at the ground, and suddenly, a beautiful dream would overtake him. He was with a caring family, warm, and has all the food he could eat. He wasn't a slave, but a person, a real person with a real family, and he was happy. When the dream would finally end, he would find himself miles from where it had started, and no recollection of having gotten there himself. 

The one time he'd dared walk on a main road, a dream came up, and he was hit by a car. It shook off the dream, and he lay there, wondering what happened. The woman who'd hit him came rushing around to see if he was alright. She'd knelt down beside him, and was checking for a pulse, or bleeding, and lifted his hand. The barcode glared at her, bigger and blacker than ever, and she dropped him faster than she would a dead, rotting rat. She got into her car, and drove away, never once looking back. 

Omi lay there for who only knows how long. He couldn't find the strength to move, nor the will to find the strength. He dreamt nearly all the time now, once waking up and he was being covered in snow. He was so far gone, he didn't feel it, and merely slipped back into a dream. 

Weeks passed. The snow melted, and returned, melted and returned. Omi hadn't opened his eyes since the snows had first begun, although his dreams were starting to fade away. 

He was listening to the cars driving by, when suddenly one of them stopped, and someone got out. He tried to move, but had no energy, and lay as if dead. He could even open his eyes, and he almost panicked. 

-Shhhh,- a voice said into his mind. -Calm down. My name is Schuldig. I help people like you. I'll take you somewhere warm.-

Omi felt himself being lifted, and carried somewhere. He was put into the backseat of a car, and whoever had saved him got into the front. 

"Your barcode says you are Omi, and you belong to Lord Crawford. Yes," he went on, as though Omi had spoken back to him. "I'm an android, too. But I hide it a little better than you did. You wouldn't happen to have a cord connection, do you?" The car stopped, and Omi heard some grunting as Schuldig tried to twist around and find one. "Aha!" A panel opened just beneath and behind his ear, and the oddest sensation occurred as Schuldig pulled the cord out. He plugged it into something, and suddenly, Omi found himself sitting on the front seat. Looking around, he gasped. "Wh..what! What is this!"

"It's a car. Haven't you ever been in a car before?" Omi shook his head. The only time he'd ever been in a car was when he was going from his first master to his old master, Crawford. And then, he'd been in the very back, on the floor, with his hands over his head. The next time he'd been in a car was to go with Crawford to the store. He'd stayed in the back of the car then, too. That was his first and only experiences with cars. 

"Well, you're in my car now. You'll always have front seat, if its just us. If not, then you'll get the back seat. I souped it up just for me. Not all cars have these things, yano." he went on pleasantly. "Really, you're still laying unconscious in the back seat. This is just a holographic projection of your consciousness." Omi twisted, and indeed... He was laying stretched across the back seat, skin a pale white color, and his lips were bluish. His clothes were in tatters, barely hanging on his body by threads. 

"I'm..."

"Still alive, but I don't know how. I'd heard reports of a droid on the road, but I couldn't believe no one'd picked you up already. Oh well. I take in folks like you, fix them up, and give 'em a place to stay. Would you like that? You don't have to be a slave anymore... Because we were all slaves. We made our own society when the human one outcast us. You'll have friends and food, and warm clothes... It'll be like paradise after what you've been through. l tell ya, it'll be great. Just wait and see." 

Omi stared out the window, amazed at how fast they were going. He could stare enough at what was going on. The car fascinated him, and so did Schuldig.

He stared for a while, then realized he was staring, and put his eyes back out the window, analyzing everything. Long, shaggy reddish orange hair, and smiling blue eyes. A wide mouth, but impossibly skinny. Omi figured from the length of his legs that he would stand at least 5'9 at full height. Maybe as tall as 5'11. Schuldig seemed content to let him stare, and simply drove. At some point, he flipped on some music. Soft, and relaxing, it made Omi feel like maybe this wasn't the worst part of his life after all. 

A map popped up in front of him, a familiar one. "What..is this?" he asked, wondering why a map of his hometown and the surrounding lands was there. A big glaring blue line made a trail across it.

"That's how far you walked." Schuldig said. "In two weeks, you walked all that way." Omi gaped. 

"I had no idea." Schuldig nodded, and another dot showed up. "You spent another three and a half weeks just lying there." Omi shivered, remembering it. Three and a half weeks of hell...

"We're home!" Schuldig said cheerily. Omi got one glimpse of the house before the car was shut off, and he was forced back into his comatose body.

As Schuldig shut off the car and was just getting out, the door to the house opened and a brown haired, blue eyed boy came out. He smiled at Schuldig. "So did you find him? Or did someone else pick him up already?" He asked going over to the car. Schuldig didn't say anything, and just opened the backseat and lifted Omi out.

"No, no one picked him up. No one had even stopped. Which surprises me; he's still in fairly good shape. I mean besides being hit by a car, and being without food or anything for about a month. Did you finish setting up the room, Nagi?"

"Yes, every thing is all set up for him. And I'm making some soup for when he wakes up."

"Well, that won't be for a while. I have to warm him up, and make sure everything is still working properly. Make sure none of his wiring is frozen beyond repair." Schuldig said and carried Omi inside. The house was fairly big, and one look around once you were inside would tell you that more then two people lived here. That, and the yelling coming from the kitchen.

"Are the twins still fighting over breakfast?" Schuldig asked. Nagi shook his head.

"No, I think they're now fighting over who gets to stir the soup." He sighed. The twins were one of the few slaves created as a pair. There were very few twin slaves around, mostly because of the fact that not many people could afford two slaves. One was enough to handle. Nagi went into the kitchen.

"Tomo, Hoshi, what are you two fighting about now?" He asked. The two twins looked at him and blinked. There eyes were golden and shown with an innocence of any normal human child. Their hair was blonde, but they had been trying to dye their hair the same color as Schuldig's, because they liked his hair color better then their own.

"Fighting?"

"We weren't fighting."

"We never fight." They said and smiled. Nagi rolled his eyes again.

"Alright, have you two been watching the soup like I asked." Nagi went over to see how the soup was doing. Hoshi nodded.

"Yeah, I was stirring it, then Tomo got in the way and almost dumped it over." Hoshi said and glared at his his brother. Tomo glared back.

"Is the new boy here? Did Schuldig get him?" Tomo asked turning his attention away from his brother. Nagi nodded as he tasted the soup.

"Yes, he's here. But he's comatose so you can't talk to hi--" Nagi blinked and looked around. The twins were already heading for the door. "Hey! Stay out of Schuldig's way." He called after them, but they ignored him. Nagi sighed and put the soup on simmer before following the twins.

Schuldig smiled, and dodged them. "He's still sleeping, guys. He's not going to be very interesting for a while. You can come watch while I run some diagnostics on him, though." He navigated his way through the living room, and into the basement. The house looked like a family could live there comfortably, but the basement always reminded Schuldig of a mad scientists hospital room. There were beds, machinery, tools, moniters, parts... Everything someone could ask for in a slave Repair Shop. 

He laid Omi down on the bed, and attached his wires to the moniters. Immediately, things began to pop up. "Impossible," he said quietly.

Omi appeared on one of the screens. "What is?" he asked, looking at them. There was a camera in the room specifically designed for things like this.

"Nothing's wrong." Schuldig said. "Your entire system seems like its just hibernating. You need food and water... if you were human, you'd have died... but theres only minor maintenance needed due to damage sustained in the accident when you were hit. You could do with a 'tune up', too. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything for you." he said, and began.

A few hours later, Omi opened his eyes, and sat up. "I.. thank you..." he said, a little awkwardly. "I'm glad you came along...If you hadn't..."

Schuldig ruffled his hair. "Well, I did. You hungry?" 

"I can barely move!" Omi said.

"Nagi made you some soup. Come on. Can you make it on your own?" Omi shrugged, and tried to stand. He wobbled a bit, and Schuldig picked him up. "I'd better take you..." he said, and carried him upstairs. 

"Who's Nagi?" Omi asked. 

"He's one of the ones who live here with me. He was kicked out, just like you, and, also like you, had no where else to go." Omi 'ah'ed, and looked around for him.

When they entered the kitchen, Nagi could be no other. There was a dark haired angel stirring the soup on the stove, and Omi felt his entire system freeze for a moment. The moment passed, and Schuldig set him down in a chair at the table. Nagi glanced over and smiled.

"You're awake." He said and went over to get a bowl. When the twin terrors came running into the kitchen. Hoshi was chasing Tomo. They ran around Schuldig, the table, then crawled under the table.

"Nagi save me!" Tomo giggled grabbing the back of Nagi's shirt and turning using him as a shield. Nagi yelped trying not to drop the dishes.

"He can't save you." Hoshi said trying to get around Nagi to get to Tomo. Hoshi pounced and Tomo screamed running from Nagi to Schuldig.

Schuldig dodged them again. "Leave me out of it!" He said, moving around to the other side of the table. Omi laughed softly, then gasped. The last time he'd laughed out loud he'd been severely beaten around for it. He tried to sink into his seat and pretend that he hadn't done anything.

Schuldig frowned at him. "Is anything wrong?" he asked. "It's alright, you know. You're not a slave anymore. You're a free person."

Tomo yelped as he was pounced by Hoshi, and tickled. He squealed with laughter squrming under his brother. Nagi sighed and walked over puting a bowl of soup down in front of Omi. "Here you go, I hope you like it. I'm Nagi by the wa-...excuse me for a moment." he said and walked over to the twins.

"Oi! Stop goofing off in the kitchen, there is food cooking in here and sharp objects, you could get hurt." Nagi snapped at them. The two twins stopped rolling around and stood up slowly.

"...sorry Nagi" They said at the same time giving him the 'innocent' look. Nagi rolled his eyes and went over getting soup for them too. He looked at Schuldig. "Do you want some too Schu?"

Schuldig nodded. "Please... It looks really good, thanks." He grinned at Nagi. Omi hid his smile at the antics of the twins. "I... I didn't know they made twins..." he said, glancing at Nagi. "And... I'm Omi... It's... nice to meet you..." he said, shyly. He'd never ever been around this many people in his entire life. It was a little bit unnerving.

"GUYS! DINNER!" Schuldig bellowed, and another two came running in. A teenaged-looking girl with long brown hair and dressed in black skidded to a halt when she saw Omi. 

"Who's he?" She asked. The other one, a slightly younger looking boy, plopped down. He was wearing a pair of baggy carpenters pants and a loose shirt. "Who cares? Nagi made soup!" 

Schuldig smiled. "And now we have a couple more, Kali and Loki. They adopted eachother after they ran away. I think you two used to be neighbors?"

Kali nodded. "Yup." she said, and served herself and Loki some soup.

Nagi got Schuldig some soup and some for himself before going over and sitting down.

"They don't make twins. Or at least it's rare that they do. These two were a custom order, for a pair of parents who couldn't have kids." Nagi said.

"Tomo! That's my seat!" Hoshi whined. "Is not!" "Is too!" "Is not!" "Is-"

"Tomo, you sit there, Hoshi, next to Loki. Schuldig, could you sit between them again?" Nagi asked as Hoshi pouted and slowly went over to sit next to Loki.

Schuldig moved to sit between them, chuckling. Kali rolled her eyes. Omi watched them all with interest. "Why do you two fight?" He asked, curiously. "Didn't your masters yell at you for it?"

Tomo shook his head. "No, they weren't our masters. Like Nagi said, we were a special order, custom made twins for a couple who couldn't have kids...although I don't know why..." Tomo said looking thoughtful. Hoshi threw a peace of bread at him.

"It's because they were both girls you moron." He said. "Anyway, they didn't treat us like slaves. We did all the house cleaning, and helped with the cooking. But we were more like a family. They even tried to get us enrolled in school, but the school wouldn't let us. And the reason we fight, is because it's funny to watch Nagi play a 'mother' roll." Hoshi said, he and Tomo giggled at the look that Nagi gave them.

Omi nodded. "I see..."

Schuldig sighed. "Not everyone had it as bad as you..." he said softly. "Most peoples masters/mothers are very nice to them. Or at least, treat them well." He chuckled at the glare Nagi gave the two of them. "AWwWWww... But you do make such an AWESOME mother-type-figure, Naggles." Schuldig said. 

Nagi kicked him under the table.

"Be careful, or you'll be waring your dinner." He said and went back to eating. The twins giggled. Tomo looked at Omi.

"So what's your name? My name is Tomo, and my brother is Hoshi."

"I can tell him my own name." Hoshi frowned, Tomo ignored him.

Omi nodded. "My name's Omi.." he turned to Nagi. "it's nice to meet you... "

"It's nice to meet you too. Do you plan on staying with us?" Nagi asked

"I... don't have anywhere else to go," Omi said. "A month ago, my master kicked me out, told me I was... trash..." He lowered his head so that his bangs overshadowed his eyes.

Tomo frowned and slowly slid out of his seat and went over to Omi and wrapped his arms around him.

"You're not trash. Human's made us to be like humans, and then throw us away when they get tired of having us around. Or think we don't have feelings because we're not human. We might be slaves, but we have feelings too, and none of us are trash." Tomo said and smiled. "So please don't be sad. I don't like to see people sad." Hoshi got out of his chair and went over standing on the other side of Omi also hugging him.

Omi stiffened at first, afraid that they were going to persecute him, but as they only hugged him, reassuring him, he relaxed, and smiled. Kali flicked her fingernail. "Humans are trash, if you ask me." she said. "Who asked you?" Loki wanted to know. Schuldig laughed. "Children, behave yourselves.." he warned. Omi tentatively put his arms around the twins and hugged them back. It was never something he'd experienced himself before, but he'd witnessed his master and his many girlfriends doing it.

Tomo and Hoshi smiled, they leaned up and each kissed one of Omi's cheeks before going back to eating. Nagi smiled at them.

"They are really nice, when they want to be. Once you're done eating, I can show you your new room if you like. And I was going to go shopping with Loki tomorrow for some new cloths, for the twins. I think you should come with us, and get some for yourself." Nagi sugested and looked at Schuldig.

"Unless you still need to work on him?"

Omi's face turned as red as a tomato. "I..." 

Schuldig shook his head. "He's free to go. Just take the monsters with you... I'm not babysitting." He made a face. Omi was still spluttering. His entire life/existence he'd had three pairs of clothing, and one pair of shoes. One pant/shirt set he'd had with his first master, and the other two, with his second. They'd been the clothes he was wearing when he was kicked out. Belatedly, he realized that he really did need new clothes. "I..O..okay..." he said, and ate. "But I... Where do you shop? How do you shop?"

Schuldig frowned. "Man, you've really been sheltered, haven't you? Slaves are allowed to buy things like food and clothing, if they have a note from their master."

The twins bounced in their seats. "YAY! New clothes!" They said togeather.

"You two better behave. You know how to act in public." Nagi scolded. "And if you do behave, I'll try and buy you ice cream." This made the twins cheer louder.Nagi shook his head and looked at Omi.

"Schuldig will provide us with the 'masters note', and you can pick out any cloths as you want. And you can get up to five shirt/pant sets." Nagi said, and before the twins could say anything. "And no, you two are only getting two sets because you havn't gone through your old cloths yet to find out what still fits, and what doesn't."

"FIVE...?"

Nagi nodded. "Yeah five. To start out with." he smiled. "Trust me, if you look at Hoshi and Tomo's cloths, five is no big deal. They have two dressers full, plus a few things haning up in their closet."

"What am I going to do with all those clothes?" he asked, looking a little bit pale.

"..you wear them. Laundry is every Friday, so you'll need clean cloths for the rest of the week. Oh, and night cloths, we should also get you a winter jacket."

"What's ... laundry? Night clothes? Why do I need clothes at night? Jacket?" Omi looked around, bewildered.

Nagi frowned, feeling bad for Omi. He remembered when Schuldig had first found him. There had barely been anything left worth saving. When his old master threw him out calling him trash, that's exactly where Nagi wound up. Schuldig had found him in a junk yard, and nearly Nagi's entire system needed replacing, or something fixed. Nagi had been lucky that his memory was still intact. But he still didn't know how long he had been in the junk yard.

"Laundry is when you wash your clothes so that they don't stay dirty all the time, and so that they don't smell bad from being dirty. Night clothes are what you wear to bed when you sleep so that you're not sleeping in your dirty clothes. And a jacket is something that will keep you warm when you go out in the winter or cold weather."

"Oh..." Omi said, feeling a little bit stupid. "I..I'm sorry... I never had any of those things before." he explained. His face turned slightly red. "Do..do I NEED all those clothes?" he asked again, not sure what he would do with five complete sets of clothing. Maybe if he got them all the same, he'd feel better about it. It wouldn't seem like he had more clothes than he'd ever needed before. Although, looking down at the clothes he was wearing, he did need at least one new set.

Hoshi blinked at him.

"It's nice to have a lot of clothes, that way you're not wearing the same clothes all the time." Tomo nodded his agreement. "We can help you pick out some clothes if you want." Nagi smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to not having a master." Nagi reasured him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

Omi looked up at him nervously as it sank it. No one was going to tell him what to do anymore. What was he going to do? He'd never NOT had a master. Someone had ALWAYS wanted him for some reason. And no one had ever said, 'do as you want to' it had been 'do as I want you to' since he'd first opened his eyes.

"I... " he nodded. "alright... you can help me..." he said.

Nagi smiled.

"Alright, go on and eat up. You need to get your strenth back." Nagi said and started eating his soup. Hoshi and Tomo lifted their bowls and drank their soup.

Omi sighed, and drank the rest of his soup up. He was nowhere near his full potential again, but he was rapidly getting there, mostly thanks to the caring of these others like him. Omi settled down after putting his bowl in the sink, and thought that maybe, just maybe, freedom wasn't as bad as he'd originally thought.

The twins came bouncing over to him. "Omi!" They both called. "Come on Omi, we're going to show you around the house, then show you your room!" They said excitedly.

Omi stood up, and followed them. "Alright.." He said, lokoing around. After a few moments, his eyes were wide, and his mouth was open. "This house is bigger than my masters..." he said. "And I thought my Master had the biggest house ever..."

"There are a lot bigger houses out there. This one has to be big because there are so many people living here. Me, Schu, the Twins, Loki and Kali." Nagi said. "And Schuldig always has room for more." He smiled. The twins glared at Nagi.

"We're giving him the tour No one invited you, Nagi." Hoshi said and Tomo nodded.

"And you can't tell me where to go in my own house." He said poking Hoshi's nose. Hoshi pretended to try and bite his finger.

Omi smiled at Nagi, a little shyly, and chuckled at the twins' antics. "H-he... was only trying to help..." Omi said quietly, not used to speaking out. "And I'm glad he is. But... you two are still giving an excellent tour." 

"Really" Tomo asked, smiling brightly.

"Maybe we should be tour guides!" Hoshi said. "Yeah! I would make a good tour guide." Tomo said and Hoshi smacked him.

"Not just you, me too."

"Nuh-ah. I'd make a better one."

"Would not."

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not times infinity plus one of what ever you say!" Hoshi said and stuck out his tongue. Tomo gaped at him eyes wide. "That's not fair!" Hoshi giggled. Nagi shook his head.

"You two, go take your bath." Nagi said and glared at them so they wouldn't protest. The twins hugged Omi before running off. Nagi watched them go before looking back at Omi. "If they ever get on your nerves, just tell them to stop, or go do something else." He smiled.

Omi shook his head, his hair falling into his face. "They couldn't get on my nerves... Really. I think they're ... funny." He said. His face was slightly red. He still wasn't used to people actually touching him. His coding still registered him as 'trash' because that was what his master had told him, and he couldn't understand why people would want to dirty themselves with him. But at the same time, he liked it that they hugged him. He liked it alot. He almost wished that it was Nagi that would hug him, but he would never ask the other boy to do that. Omi yawned, covering his mouth, and looked around. 

"Are you tired? I can show you to where you'll be sleeping, and you can borrow some of my clothes, or Loki's I'm sure one of ours would fit." Nagi said smiling. He let his eyes wonder over Omi as the blond boy looked around. Omi was deffinitly very good looking, but then again, no one had ever made a bad looking slave. Some where just more attractive then others.

Omi thought about it. He was exhausted, but he really didn't want to inconvenience anyone. "I'm fine.." he lied quietly. He'd run on much less rest than what he'd had before. He smiled softly. "Show me the rest of the house?"

"Okay. But if you get tired let me know, we're trying to get your energy level up where it's supposed to be." Nagi smiled. "Can't do that if you don't rest." Nagi said and took Omi's hand. "You know where the kitchen is. That's the living room, the workshop is in the basement, Schuldig is usually in his room, or down there. So if you ever need something fixed just asked him." Nagi said. 

Omi heard every other word or so, distracted by the fact that Nagi had taken his hand. /What's it for/ he wondered. /Why? What purpose does it have/ Belatedly, he said, "O.okay.." He wandered around, looking at everything, and memorizing the things Nagi told him. Yawning again, he realized that he probably should have gone to bed when Nagi had first asked if he was tired, but he was too well mannered to ask if he could sleep.

Nagi glanced at him. He could tell that Omi was getting tired, so he led him upstairs and pointed out the bedroom's. "At night, if you ever need anything, you can come to mine or Schuldig's room." Nagi said pointing them out. "The twins sleep there, Loki is down the hall, as is Kali. And this, this is your room." Nagi said opening the door. It was a nice room, a dresser in the corner, a twin bed by the window, a walk in closet, and a seperate door leading to the bathroom next to the room. 

Omi gazed around. This room was HUGE. "Who else sleeps here?" he asked. He had a vague idea that the answer would be something like 'no one but you,' and he didn't like it. What was he going to do with all that extra space? It was actually somewhat frightening. "O..Okay.." he said, not waiting for a response. Feeling like he was walking into a cavern, he walked into it, and sat down on the bed. /I can't possibly sleep on this./ he thought. /This is a bed for masters.../ He didn't say any of this out loud, just smiled and waited for Nagi to leave. "G..goodnight..."

Nagi smiled at him. "Wait here I'll be right back." He said and left the room coming back a few seconds later with some night clothes. He went over and put them on the bed next to Omi before standing back.

"I hope you like it here and decide to stay. And remember, if you need anything, I'm right across the hall. And so is Schuldig." He said, and his hand twitched. He wanted to give Omi a hug to reassure him that things would be fine for him here, but he didn't know how Omi would react to him hugging him. He seemed to get a little tense when just the twins hugged him. "I'll see you in the morning then. G'night."

"Go..good night..." Omi said, looking down at the nightclothes that Nagi had brought. He smiled up at him. "Thank you, Nagi..." He said quietly, and shut the door as Nagi left. He poked around the room a bit, and discovered the closet. Relieved that there was a room the proper size, he debated about the sheet, the pillow, and the comforter, and ended up with the sheet. Leaving the night clothes and pillow and comforter on the bed, he curled up in the back of the closet, using the sheet as a pillow, and was asleep almost instantly. 

Sometime later that night, he awoke feeling cold, and pulled the sheet over him. It was a nice feeling, having covers, and he went back to sleep smiling. He would definately stay. He had no where else to go. 


	2. Chapter 2

Nameless. Written for ProdigyBombay on Gaia. co-written with YamiKitsune

-------

The next morning Hoshi and Tomo came running into Schuldig's room. "Schuldig! Schuldig wake up!" they cried. They ran over to the bed and climbed on, each on one side of him. They shook him. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Schuldig grumbled. "I'm up, I'm up! Stop yelling!" He rolled over, and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Omi's gone!" They both said at once.

"We went to wake him up for breakfast, and he wasn't in bed. And the bed hasn't even been slept in."

"And the night clothes Nagi gave him were still on the bed."

Schuldig scrambled out of the bed, and practically sprinted into Omi's room. The sheet was missing, but otherwise, the bed was made. The clothes were indeed still on the bed. "What the hell! DAMN IT." 

In the closet, Omi woke up to the swearing, and went white as a sheet. /I'm in trouble... I'm going to be hit... I knew this was too good to last.../ Terrified, he opened the door to the closet, and huddled near the wall. "I'm sorry.." he whispered. "i won't do it again.."

The twins turned and looked at Omi. They blinked. "...what were you doing in the closet?" Hoshi asked going over to him.

Nagi peeked into the room to see what all the camotion was about. He blinked at Schuldig and the twins then looked over at Omi.

"Sleeping," Omi said, his voice trembling. "I'm sorry..." he said again. 

Schuldig knelt down beside him, and he flinched. "It's alright, Nagi. You're not going to get into trouble for that. I was just worried. I was afraid you'd run out on us. The room is yours. You can sleep here, in the bed. It's yours, too."

Nagi frowned and looked at Omi. He wondered if Omi was really that scared to be without a master. "...breakfast will be done shortly." He said before leaving the room. The twins stood next to Schuldig looking at Omi. They glanced at eachother before kneeling down next to Omi and wrapping their arms around them.

"We thought you ran away." Hoshi said.

"Yeah, we came in to get you and you weren't here. So we thought you were gone, and that you didn't like us." Tomo said leaning against him slightly. Hoshi nodded.

Omi watched Nagi leave, and felt like a kicked puppy. He put his arms around the twins, unsure of what else to do. "I'm sorry... I'm not.. I've never... I've never had a bed before... It felt wrong... to be there... The... closet felt more like the room I used to have, even though its a little bit bigger." Nagi he had labeled as the 'master' even thought it really appeared to be Schuldig. Yesterday Nagi had been smiling and happy, but today, Omi's sleeping in the closet seemed to upset him. Upsetting ones Master was Wrong, and Omi felt terrible. Standing up, Omi put his eyes on the floor, and started walking towards the door. Schuldig stopped him by wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a hug. 

"None of us are mad. We were worried." he assured him. Omi nodded, and Schuldig put him back down. Omi continued on his trek to the kitchen. Once there, he slid into one of the chairs, pulled his knees up to his chest, and hid his face. 

Nagi glanced at him and smiled a little. "how are you feeling this morning?" He asked as he flipped the french toast and turned the bacon. "Are you hungry?"

Omi nodded slightly. "yes..." he said, his voice sounding small.

Nagi frowned and turned the temp down on the stove so the food wouldn't burn before going over to Omi. He leaned down and looked at him.

"...are you okay? You look sad. Did you think we were mad at you for sleeping in the closet?"

Omi started trembling. "Sch..Schuldig sounded so mad! And you... you..." He paled, jerking away suddenly, and ended up falling off the chair. "I'm sorry!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down." Nagi said and went over kneeling next to him. "It's alright. No one is mad at you." Nagi said and pulled Omi into a hug as a reflex, trying to calm Omi down. "I promise, no one is mad at you okay? Besides, you sleeping in the closet is better then where I slept for the first month that I was here. I used to sleep in the workshop on a pile of old part because I couldn't sleep in my bed."

Omi clung to him, nodding. "Why...not...?" 

"Because, I'd been in the junk yard for so long sleeping in a real bed just didn't feel right. I think Schuldig was about ready to take me up to my bed and tie me there until I fell asleep in the bed." Nagi said smiling a little. "It just took time to get used to having a bed."

Omi smiled a little at the imagery, but it faded quickly. "Were you displeased with me?" he asked, the one question in his memory banks that he hated. He'd asked it twice before, and twice gotten 'yes.' Omi pulled away a little, as his stomach grumbled. He blushed, and put his hand over it, like covering it would hide the embarrassing noises.

Nagi shook his head.

"No, I just hadn't realized how bad you probably had it. But I do understand why you were in the closet."

Omi nodded. "it was... bad...I suppose..." he said. "I never had anything to compare it to. My first master was kinder, but he never treated me well... My second master... he hit me sometimes. Especially if I did something bad."

"It's alright. Human's think that just becuase we wern't BORN then we have no feelings."

Omi nodded. "When...will breakfast be done...?" he asked.

"It's just about done now." Nagi said and stood up, he took Omi's hand and helped him up as well. He smiled at him. "After breakfast we can go shopping and get you some new things, okay?"

Omi looked a little nervous about that prospect, but nodded anyway, and returned to his seat.

Nagi gave Omi another quick hug.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to things around here, I promise." He said and went back over to finish cooking the food. The twins came bouncing in.

"Is food done yet Nagi?" Hoshi asked. "Yeah! We're starving!" Tomo said giggling as he climbed into the seat next to Omi, and Hoshi took the seat on the other side.

Omi looked a little pale, but didn't run away. He was beginning to like the twins' enthusiasm. 

Schuldig stopped in the doorway. "Now isn't this just homey?" he asked, teasing Nagi. "Where's Kal and Lok?"

"Still upstairs I think. I was just about to call them down." Nagi said as he put the rest of the food on plates and put them on the table. "help your selves." He said before going to call Loki and Kali down to eat.

Kali was on her way down, dragging Loki behind her. "We're coming, don't shout!" she said, irritably. 

Omi took some food, and ate it, smiling.

Hoshi and Tomo waited for Omi to get something to eat before they practicly attacked the plate, going for the same piece. Hoshi glared at Tomo.

"This one's mine! Get your own." He said taking it away from Tomo. Tomo gapped at him and reached across Omi to get the piece back off Hoshi's plate. Hoshi was about to stab it with his fork when it was swiped out from under him. Hoshi was about to throw the butter at Tomo when Nagi came back in.

"Hoshi!" He snapped making Hoshi freeze, butter ready to be thrown.

Omi was ducked down between them, almost under the table, and was trembling. /Is he going to get mad at me for not stopping them/ he wondered.

Schuldig came in, took one look at the scene at the table, and doubled over laughing. 

Nagi went over and took the butter from Hoshi and put it back on the table before sitting him right in the chair.

"You two know better then to get into food fights." Nagi snapped getting slightly irritated with the twins. He glanced at Omi and sighed. "You don't have to hide, I'm not mad at you." He said.

Omi nodded. "I know," He said quietly, sitting up as straight as he could while still cowering down. 

Schuldig was still laughing sporadically as Loki and Kali sat down. "What's so funny?" Loki asked, looking around. Omi looked like a dog that was being yelled at. /Did Omi do something/ he wondered. /Nah. More like the twins. I don't think Omi COULD do anything wrong.../

He shared his thoughts with Schuldig and Nagi via a private comm-system that all androids shared, though few ever used. 

/Yes, the twins were going to start a food fight./ Nagi said as he sat down and dished himself up. The twins were sitting back in their chairs pouting as they ate.

Omi finished his food, and sat there, looking around discreetly. Schuldig watched him, but didn't say anything.

Nagi finished his breakfast and picked up the dishes. "Omi, can you come with me please? I'm going to get you some cloths to ware while we're shopping. You can't go out in thouse rags." Nagi said smiling a little at him.

Omi looked down at his clothes, and nodded. /They're only borrowed.../ he rationalized, and stood up.

Nagi smiled more and took his hand leading him from the room. He brought Omi upstairs to his room and went over to the closet. He looked through his clothes before he came out with a sweater and a pair of jeans.

"Try those on."

Omi stripped off the remains of his clothes, and pulled Nagi's clothing on over his head, and then sat down to tug the jeans up. They were almost exactly the same size, and the clothes fit perfectly. Omi felt his arms and legs. The material was strange; nothing like the loose cotton he had worn all his life.

Nagi picked up the remains of Omi's old 'clothes' and threw them away. He looked back at Omi when the other boy was done changing.

"Those look good on you." Nagi said and glanced at Omi's feet. "..you're going to need shoes too." He said. "I have an extra pair of those downstairs too."

"O..okay..." he said, not sure what to do about what Nagi had said about how the clothes looked on him. They were clothing. Was it supposed to look good or bad?

Nagi went back over to his closet and started looking through it again. He pulled out two jackets, one for him, and one for Omi. Before he got his own clothes.

"Nagi! We're ready to leave!" The twins yelled from downstairs. Nagi rolled his eyes.

"Those two are so impatient sometimes."

Omi smiled. "They're... anxious. Excited," he said. He looked down at the jacket Nagi had handed him. "What's this for?"

Downstairs, Loki rolled his eyes, too. "He's getting Omi ready. He's not going to come flying down the stairs just because the two of you are ready to go,"

"We know he's getting Omi ready." Hoshi said.

"They're just taking to long." Tomo said with a huff.

"It's to keep you warm when we go out side." he said. Once Omi took it Nagi poked the corner of Omi's mouth. "I like it when you smile. You look so much better when you do."

Omi frowned, puzzled. "I do? It's just a smile." He put the jacket on after a few minutes fighting with it, and nodded. It did feel warmer already. 

Loki sighed. "You two are unpleasable. They've only been up there for a few minutes." 

"We are not!" Hoshi said pouting. Tomo went over and hugged Loki's arm.

"Are you going to come to the store with us?" Tomo asked looking up at him with wide eyes.

Loki nodded. "I'm not leaving poor Omi and Nagi alone with the two of you." he said, ruffling Tomo's hair. He smiled at Hoshi. "And you are too."

Hoshi stuck his tongue out at Loki before heading upstairs to get Nagi and Omi. Tomo smiled and leaned against Loki.

Loki put an arm around him, waiting. 

Omi was coming out of the room when he bumped into Hoshi. "Oooof." He blinked. "I'm sorry!"

Hoshi yelped when he fell back. He shook his head and looked up at Omi and smiled. '

"It's okay" He said and bounced up. "I was coming to get you two, because you're taking so long!" He said mainly to Nagi who came up behind Omi.

Omi kept his eyes lowered. "I'm sorry... It was my fault," he said again.

Nagi frowned and then glared at Hoshi before looking back at Omi.

"It's not your fault Omi. Hoshi is just impatent." He said. Hoshi frowned as he looked at Omi, he hadn't ment to make him feel bad. Hoshi and Tomo had never had to deal with someone like Omi before. They had come here almost a year after Nagi had, and by then Nagi was much better then he had been.

"I'm sorry Omi. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Nagi's right it's not your fault." Hoshi said before turning and bouncing back downstairs.

Omi still felt as though he'd done something wrong, and trudged down the stairs after him, expecting to be hit for being slow at any moment. Loki raised a hand to wave at Nagi, and Omi flinched. 

Schuldig came in and frowned. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked Omi. Omi nodded. "Fine." he whispered. Schuldig looked to Nagi. "What happened?"

"Hoshi was being impatent again and came to tell me and Omi to hurry up." Nagi said. Hoshi yelped when Nagi glared at him again. The blond haired boy ducked behind Schuldig.

/I'm sorry Schu...I didn't mean to make Omi feel bad, I really didn't./ Hoshi said as he staid behind Schuldig.

-It's alright. That's just the way Omi is. You're going to have to teach him that he's not going to get into trouble here, and that no ones going to hit him...- Schuldig said gently, and hugged Omi. "You're fine." he said. 

Omi nodded. "Okay," he said, relaxing.

Hoshi peeked out from behind Schuldig and smiled a little at Omi. Tomo frowned as he watched them.

Omi smiled back at him, a little shyly. Loki glanced at Tomo. "What's wrong?"

Tomo loked up at Loki before looking back at Omi. "...loki...how come Omi seem's so scared to do stuff? And why dosn't he want new clothes?" He asked softly so that Omi wouldn't hear him.

Loki pulled Tomo off to the side. "Omi was a slave before," he said just as quietly. "People ordered him around, and hit him really hard when he didn't do something the way they wanted. Because he was a slave, they thought they were better than he was, and only let him have nasty food, and a small room for sleeping in. They never let him have new things like clothes, or toys, or books, or anything. The clothes he came in wearing, the rags?" he made it sound like a question, making sure that Tomo knew what he was talking about. "Those are the same clothes he's had for years."

Tomo frowned. "Those rags were his clothes? How come people do that Loki? How come they treat us diffrently?"

"Yeah, those rags were his clothes. ..." Loki sighed. "They treat us like that because we're not born from humans... We're created in labs, and factories..." He said. 

"...I know we're not human...b...but...it's still not fair! They creat us to be as human as possible, I think they're just jealous of us becuase we look better then they do." Tomo huffed his cheeks puffing out slightly.

Loki laughed, attracting Omi and Schuldig's attention. "I'm sure that's true." Loki agreed.

Tomo smiled a little. Hoshi frowned. "What are you laughing about?" He asked Loki.

"Your brother," he said. "Better get out to the car, or else we'll leave you here."

Omi went outside, and looked around. He knew it was cold out, because it was almost snowing. But he wasn't cold. His hands and face were, but because of the shoes, and the warm clothes, the rest of him wasn't. /If I'd had clothes like these when I ran away, I wouldn't be so sick now.../ he thought.

Nagi came out behind him, Hoshi and Tomo ran out past them and started fighting over the front seat.

Omi watched them fighting. Loki came out, and claimed it for himself, ending the fight. 

"HEY! NOT FAIR!" Hoshi called and tried to pull Loki out of the front seat. Tomo just pouted and climbed in the backseat.

Loki locked the door, and put his seatbelt on. "You two keep Omi company in the back," he said. Omi took the hint, and climbed into the back, looking around. He glanced over the seat, and saw the trunk space - the place where he usually rode - and shivered.

Hoshi sighed and climbed in next to Omi, while Tomo sat on the other side of him.

Nagi sighed and looked at Schuldig. "Are you going to come with us?" Nagi asked wondering if he would have to drive or not. Nagi had learned how to drive when he was only five. One of his masters had requested that Nagi get the information installed becuase his master was an old man, and couldn't drive that well any more. So when Nagi had to, he could drive.

Schuldig shook his head. "Nope. I'm gonna stay here and work out that bug I found on the mainframe hard drive. Take good care of Omi. We just got him." He winked. Omi looked at Nagi. "You can drive?" he asked, awed. 

"Alright, we'll be back later tonight." He said and made sure he had notes for each of them from their 'master' saying they could buy things. Nagi got in the car and glanced at Omi.

"Yeah, I've been able to drive since I was about five. I had a master that was in his 60's, and didn't want to drive any more." Nagi said and hit a button so the seat was adjusted so he could see out the window. "Alright, where do you guys want to go next, and if you two say the toy store you'll stay here." Nagi said to Hoshi and Tomo who both were about to say something.

Omi blinked. "Five?" he asked, tilting his head. "What's... five?" He knew it was a number. It came between 4 and 6. His masters had used him for keeping things like bills and other numbers straight, so he was excellent with them, but he didn't understand what Nagi was talking about. Five inches? Five feet? How could someone be a number? After a few moments silence, he spoke up again. "A toy store?"

"five years old, and you don't know what a toystore is?" Nagi asked frowning.

Omi mentally calculated that out, and nodded. "I see," he said quietly. "How old are you now?" He asked, then glanced up and saw the frown. Afraid that he'd upset Nagi again, he lowered his eyes, and shook his head. "No... I don't. I've never seen one."

"See Nagi! Now we have to go!" Hoshi said and Nagi rolled his eyes.

"No, WE don't have to go. You two can go with Loki and get some ice cream while I show Omi all the stores. I think the best place to go would be the mall." He said and started the car before looking back at Omi. He reached back and grabbed his hand squeezing gently. "And I'm not mad at you. And the answer to your question is, i'm seventeen. At least I think I am, I don't know if I lost a year or two while I was in the junk pile. But I'm around seventeen."

Omi nodded, and smiled. It was getting easier to do that, and he knew that he wouldn't get into trouble here. Now if only he could convince himself that it was TRUE, he'd be going strong. "I don't know how old I am," he said. "At all." He knew that he'd been created to look around 12, but he'd grown and matured since then. Slower than humans, because his masters liked the way he looked. He briefly wondered why Nagi had held his hand like that. "The mall?"

"Yeah, it's a giant building that has lots of stores, and places to eat." Tomo said. Nagi smiled and turned back around before pulling out of the driveway and heading to the mall, while Hoshi and Tomo explained WHAT a mall was.

Omi listened to them, wondering what it would be like. In the front seat, Loki thought of something, and opened a connection between him and Nagi. -Nagi... Omi's never been to a mall before. How's he going to react to all those people?-

Nagi blinked. -I hadn't thought of that...-

-I didn't think so- Loki said. -I'll take the twins around, and get them some clothes. I know what they need. You can deal with whatever mess Omi turns into once we get there.-

-gee, thanks.- Nagi said but smiled.

-I thought you'd like that.- Loki said, and his eyes flicked back to look at Omi. The former slave was gaping out the window, the sheer velocity of the car a little too much. He rolled his eyes. -Nagi, you've got your work cut out for you.- he said, then switched it over to Omi. -Hey, Kid.- he said, imitating Schulig's easy manner. Omi looked at him. -...yes?- he asked. 

-The mall is going to be very scary for you. I know it was for me, the first time. There are a LOT of people there, and a lot of stores. It's HUGE. I don't want you to freak out. Make Nagi proud that you acted well at the mall.- He said. Omi nodded. -I will. I won't fail Nagi.-

A few minutes longer and Nagi pulled into the mall parking lot. They spent at least fifteen minutes looking for a parkingspot. But as soon as the car was parked Tomo and Hoshi darted out of the car and were bouncing around waiting for the others to get out.

Nagi looked back at Omi. "Okay Omi, once we're inside, I don't want you to leave my side okay? The last thing I want to do is lose you in the mall. Trust me, no one listens at the customer service when a 'slave' is looking for another 'slave'. If there are any stores that you see that you want to go into, let me know okay? And don't be scared to tell me where you want to go."

Omi tore his eyes away from staring around wide-eyed to nod. "Understood," he said quietly. Loki hopped out, and raced the twins inside. Omi crawled out of the car, and latched onto Nagi's arm, terrified, although he was trying not to be. Loki's words bounced around in his mind. /Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Make Nagi proud of me. Don't freak out./ 

Nagi held Omi's hand and let him stay latched onto his arm. He ignored the looks that people gave them as they walked past going into the mall. He glanced ahead and saw Hoshi and Tomo practicly pulling Loki along. He frowned when he saw lady stop and pet Hoshi and Tomo's head. She was about to offer them some candy when she noticed the barcoad on Hoshi's shoulder and backed away like she had seen a ghost.

Hoshi's cheeks puffed out in anger. "yeah, well we hate you too lady!" He shouted after her. Nagi rolled his eyes.

"No class Hoshi, no class at all." He looked at Omi stopping just outside the door to the mall. "Are you ready for this omi?"

Omi nodded. /It's just a building... just a building... just a building.../

Nagi opened the doors and led Omi inside. Tomo and Hoshi pulled Loki in through one of the other doors. Nagi stopped them before they could run off. "Here are the notes, and some money for each of you." He said and smiled. "Have fun, and you two, don't drive Loki crazy."

"We won't!" The called and continued dragging Loki along. Nagi smiled, he was glad that Loki had offered to take the twins around, now all his attention could be on Omi incase the other boy freaked out.

Loki allowed himself to be dragged around by the hyperactive kids. Only a few years their senior physically, Loki's mind was much older, and he loved to be around them and remember. 

Omi stopped inside the doorway, and stared. Nothing in his life could have prepared him for this, and it shook him right down to his core.

Nagi continued to hold Omi's hand as he looked at him.

"You okay?" Nagi asked. He glanced around quickly, there wern't that many people around yet, but they were still only by the entrance. And the sound of people could be heard talking and walking throughout the mall.

Omi nodded jerkily. "I'm fine,"

"Do you want to wait here for a few mintues so you can get a little used to this place before we go where there are more people?"

This time he shook his head. "no. Go, now..." He said, and took a few steps forwards. /Just a building.. .make Nagi proud... just a building.../

Nagi nodded and slowly led Omi forward out to the slightly busier part of the mall.

Every instinct drilled into Omi's brain screamed at him to get away, that there were too many people there, that he was going to get the beating of his life for daring to come to something like this. But he stepped forward with Nagi calmly, keeping everything bottled up inside.

Nagi moved at a steady pace, but still slow enough to get Omi used to so many people. He looked around and saw a clothing store, that didn't seem to have to many people in it. So he led Omi there first.

Omi was a hairs breadth away from dashing from the mall and never looking back. As Nagi led him towards the store, the feeling grew in intensity.

Nagi brought him into the store and then looked at him. "Omi, are you okay? If you don't want to do this, let me know and I'll take you somewhere else, to a smaller store outside the mall to get clothes."

"I'm fine," Omi insisted, then flushed. /Liar. He's going to hit you sooo hard/ his mind told him.

"Alright. If you want to leave at any time, please tell me okay? I don't want to force you to do something you're not ready for, and I know this many people around can be stressful." he said and gave Omi a small hug.

"Excuse me, can I help you two?" The clurk asked, his eyes were narrowed as he looked the boys over.

Omi simply trembled. He'd been about to assure Nagi that he was fine, that he could handle it - he HAD to handle it - when the man interrupted. /If I'm not afraid, then Nagi will be proud of me.../

"We are looking for new clothes for my friend here." Nagi said and nodded towards Omi. The clerk looked Omi over eyes narrowed even more.

"Sorry, can't help you. Besides, don't you know how to read? We don't sell slaves clothing here." The man said and turned to go back to his job.

"Oh, well that's good. Because we're not slaves." Nagi said and smiled. The man stopped and turned back towards them. "Well, we're not. We may have been bought, but our master says that we are not slaves, we are his family and he treats us as such. So, if you sell clothes for PEOPLE, then you have exactly what we're looking for." Nagi said and then looked at Omi. "Do you see anything you like?"

Omi drew back when the man got hostile. Usually a look like that preceded a very hard, long beating, and it was all he could do not to drop down to the ground and beg not to be hit. At Nagi's query, he gave a perfunctory look around. There were clothes. What was he supposed to like? Finding no answer to that, he turned to the next best thing. What would make Nagi happy? He wandered a few feet away, looking a shirt.

Nagi watched Omi, and kept sending glances to the clerk to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything. When Nagi was sure that they weren't going to be kicked out, or that the clerk wasn't going to call sacurity and have them thrown out of the mall, Nagi started looking around as well. He looked at the shirts that Omi was looking at and smiled before he went over and looked at some pants for himself.

Omi gave a tentative smile back. /He smiled... because I was looking at the shirts... / Omi realized. /It was good.../ He chose one, and took it to Nagi. "This...will fit," he said quietly.

Nagi gave him another smile.

"See any thing else you like? You can get more then one shirt of you want. Or a pair of pants, then we'll go look at other stores."

Omi chose another shirt just like it, and a pair of jeans. He'd stopped thinking of them as 'things he would wear', and had been considering them as 'things that will make Nagi smile.'

Nagi took the clothes and went over to pay for them. The clerk was still glaring at him and wasn't making any move to ring them up.

"What is with you? We're buying clothes, I thought all stores loved to sell things, everyone's money is as good as the next person's." Nagi sanpped. The clerk didn't say anything to him. "Look, here is the note from my master giving me AND my friend permision to buy things, here is his credit card."

"Hn, a bad mouth slave like you probably forged the note, and stole the credit card from poor old man." Nagi took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Getting angry and putting his hand threw the counter wouldn't help things.

"Are you going to ring up the clothes or not?" Nagi asked.

"Not."

"Alright then." Nagi smirked. "You're loss." Nagi said and turned to Omi. "Come on Omi, let's go call master Schuldig and let him know that the store won't let us buy things."

Omi nodded. He'd encountered this before; he was painfully familiar with THIS. "Oh..okay..." he said. It still stung. 

Nagi took Omi's hand and was about to leave the store.

"Wait!" The clerk said. "Schuldig is your master?" He asked eyes wide. Nagi looked back at him.

"Yes, he is our master." Nagi said. "Let me guess, you've heard of him?"

"Who HASN'T? He was the guy who stopped the slaves from trying to take over a few years ago. He invented that chip that lets you control all your slaves' thoughts right?" Nagi smiled and nodded. Schuldig had created something like that. But it didn't control the slaves. It made it so that if they were being beaten or something, all they had to do was think 'no pain' and they wouldn't feel anything. He made it so that less and less slaves were destroyed.

Omi looked at him, wide-eyed. When the clerk looked back at him, he lowered his eyes, and ducked his head. 

After they paid, Omi carried the bags out of the store. A woman stopped him. "Schuldig has no slaves." she said. "He IS a slave." Omi looked like a started rabbit. She smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sympathetic to the slaves cause. I won't bare your secrets." She moved on. No one else had seen them, or heard the conversation. Omi sank down to the ground as a movie let out and dozens of people wandered past. He held the bag close, and huddled near a tree growing from a hole in the flooring. 'Ngi..' he whispered hoarsely, realizing that Nagi was nowhere to be seen. His earlier words came back, unbidden. "Okay Omi, once we're inside, I don't want you to leave my side okay? The last thing I want to do is lose you in the mall." Omi started panicking as he realized he'd been 'lost in the mall.' He was terrified, not just that there were people there, but that he was alone, and Nagi was going to be furious. Whimpering, he curled up tighter. No one paid him any mind; he was just a slave, after all.

Nagi looked around and saw another store that he thought Omi would like to go into, but when he turned to ask him he didn't see him. His eyes went wide and he looked around quckly. "Omi?" He called. But there was no answer. /Oh no..not good, not good/ He thought and started looking around more. He backtracked his steps wondering if Omi had gotten sidetracked by something. "Omi! Where are you!" He called.

Omi heard Nagi's voice. The crowds were thinning out now, but he still couldn't see him. He was afraid that if he raised his voice, one of the people would hit him. /But ... Nagi's raising his voice.../ part of his mind argued. /Nagi's more confident than you are/ he reasoned. /He's been okay with this for a long time. Remember how he handled that man in the store/ 

He caught a glimpse of Nagi's hair, and had started moving towards him when a man blocked his view. Lowering his eyes, he was about to step around him, but the man grabbed his arm, and yanked his chin up. Omi let his eyes slip over the mans face, gasping with recognition. "Cr..Crawford!" His old master. 

"What is trash like you doing in the mall!" he demanded. "You should be in a dumpster somewhere where you belong!" He looked down at the bag Omi was holding, and sneered. "Where did you get that? Did you steal it?" He noticed the clothes Omi was wearing. "I bet you stole those, too, you little thief!" he growled. Omi was shaking so hard his teeth were chattering. 

"n..no!" he said. Crawford's eyes widened then narrowed, and he hit him. Omi spun around a few times before hitting the floor. He scrambled away. "Yo..you're not...my master!" he stammered. "L..leave me...alone!" 

Crawford took a step forward, causing Omi to move even farther away. At the last second, he cursed. "Come one, Ken. We're leaving." A brown haired slave scurried after him. "Yes, Master," He said demurely. Omi lay on the floor, waiting for his heart to stop attempting to leap out of his chest.

Nagi had made his way through the crowed and saw Omi be hit to the floor. He watched the man start to walk off and growled. He knew he was only a slave and had no say in what people did, and if anyone was going to get in trouble it would be him. But that man had just hurt Omi, and Nagi wasn't going to let him get away with that. Nagi picked up the first thing he saw, wich happened to be a cup of orange soda someone had left sitting on a bench by the tree, and threw it at Crawford, hitting him in the back of the head, and staining the white suit he was wearing.

Ken and Omi's eyes widened. Crawford turned, slowly. Gossip ran rampant through the people watching, and a space was cleared around Nagi. Omi scrambled up off the floor, and threw himself at Nagi. 

"What did you do that for!" he hissed, in a state of utter panic. "He's going to KILL YOU!" Crawford began to advance on them, slowly. Omi ducked behind Nagi at first. Crawford smirked. 

"So this is where you've been all this time," Crawford drawled. Omi ducked down so that he was huddled on the floor at Nagi's feet. Crawford raised his hand, about to strike Nagi, when Omi made a quick decision, and stood up, placing himself between his old Master and his new friend. 

"D..don't... h-hurt...h...hi...him..." he stammered quietly, refusing to meet Crawford's eyes. Crawford glowered at him for a moment, and then shrugged out of his jacket. "Come on, Ken. I have no time for Trash," he said, condescendingly, and they left. 

Omi dropped to his knees, trembling. Half of the crowd gathered began to applaud. The other half stalked off, worried that their slaves would get ideas.

"Hn, the only trash I see here is you!" Nagi yelled after him before kneeling next to Omi and pulling him into a hug. "Are you okay Omi?" He asked softly hoping that that man hadn't hurt Omi.

Omi nodded shakily. "I'm fine..." he whispered. "A..are... you alright?"

Nagi blinked.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Pissed off at that guy though. Who WAS that?"

"My...my old master..." Omi said quietly. He was still shaking like a leaf in a hurricane, but his heart had slowed down to its original rhythm. Loki's order, 'don't freak out, and make Nagi proud' was still fresh in his circuits, and he took a deep breath. "Nagi... Can we ... continue ...?" he asked, starting to pull himself together.

Nagi frowned a little.

"Are you sure? We'll only continue if you want too." He said softly. "I'm sure it can throw you for a loop running into an old master."

"I'm sure." Omi said, wondering if he was. "I want to continue on. I.." he trailed off, feeling his determination wavering. What if Nagi didn't want to go on? What if Nagi was trying to dissuade him, because he just wanted to go hom? "I mean... I only... If you want to..." he finished, his eyes on the floor.

Nagi blinked and lifted Omi's eyes to make him look at him. "...are you only staying here, because I want to stay here?"

Omi shook his head. "no..."

"I'm... I'm staying...Because... I want to..." Omi said. "Because... I don't... want to be...afraid..." His voice slowly got softer until he finished with a whisper.

Nagi smiled and gave him a hug before standing up.

"I'm proud of you, it takes a lot to face your fears. Especially when it goes against what people have programmed into you."

Omi breathed a sigh of relief. /Mission accomplished/ he thought. Nagi was proud. Those words made him happier than he'd ever been before.

Nagi took Omi's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Where would you like to go next?"

"Where...else is there to go?" 

From the other side, Loki was doubled over laughing. "Did you SEE that?" he asked the twins. "Omi and Nagi showed him! Omi did SUCH a good job." He straightened. "If you don't tell on me, I can take you to the toy store while we wait," he said, winking.

The twins smiled and nodded.

"YAY! Toy store!"

"well, there are a lot more stores in the mall. We've just been to one. Do you see any that look intresting to you?"

Omi looked around. He didn't really have any interests that he could name. He liked to keep his master happy, because when his master was happy, he was happy. Nagi and Schuldig now qualified as his masters... what would make them happiest, he wondered. He looked around the mall again, and shrugged. "You pick something..."

Nagi 'hmm'ed as he looked around.

"Why don't we go buy you some new shoes?" He sugested.

Omi looked around once more, then glanced at his feet. "Okay." he said. He bottled his first responce up inside him - 'If it is your wish, Master,' because he didn't think that Nagi would like to hear that.

Nagi took his hand making sure not to loose track of Omi this time and headed to the shoe store. The lady in there had been a lot kinder then the clerk in the last store. She helped Omi find a pair of shoes in his size. SHe also found him a pair of snow shoes, that she gave him for free. All in all, she treated Omi as if he were a human.

Omi smiled at her politely, and told her in a faintly accented voice that he didn't speak japanese very well, easily accounting for his silence. He accepted her help gratefully, and when they were through, he gave her a wider, happier smile than the one he'd first given.

She smiled back at him and petted his head.

"Have a good day boys." She said as Nagi smiled at her and left the store. He took a couple bags from Omi so he wouldn't have to carry them all.

Omi's shaking had started up again, although for a very different reason. /Cold.../ he thought, looking around at the other stores. He saw a pet store, and practically hauled Nagi into it.

Nagi smiled as Omi led him into the pet store. He didn't really care for pets, but he was happy that Omi had chosen a place to go.

Omi was entranced by the small animals, and birds. He laughed slightly as a puppy leapt up against the cage, barking. Smiling, the man behind the counter came over to them. "Can I help you?" Omi's smile faded, and he mutely shook his head. The man's smile widened. "Would you like to pet one of them?" he asked. Omi's eyes widened, and the man took a docile puppy out of the cage, and let Omi sit with it in the play-pen. Omi laughed again as it licked his face. After a few minutes, he brought it back out, and bowed deeply to the man. "Thank you," he said, smiling. He took Nagi's hand, and led him back out of the pet store. He turned around and the man made the puppy wave good bye, before putting it back into its kennel, and going to help some other customers. Omi laughed again.

Nagi smiled when he heard Omi laugh. It was the first time he had seen Omi so happy. "Omi, if I leave you alone for a few moments, will you bealright?" Nagi asked. "I need to go do something really quick, and I'll be right back."

Omi paled for a moment, remembering the chain of events not too long ago that lead to his run-in with his old master. It was just a moment, though, and he nodded, and sat down at a bench situated nearby.

Nagi smiled and went off dissapearing into the crowd. He found a slightly quieter place and took out his cellphone to call Schuldig. He wanted to get Omi a pet, but he needed to ask Schuldig first. He was sure that he wouldn't like it to much if they came home with an unexpected small animal. Nagi dialed the home phone.

Schuldig picked up the phone, only just remembering to turn down the music as he did so. "Yo." he said. He knew it would be Nagi or Loki. No one else knew the number. Shaking his long shock of orange hair out of his eyes, he surveyed his handiwork. The house had been getting to him lately, and he was cleaning and rearranging.

"Schu. Can we get a pet?" Nagi asked getting strait to the point. 


	3. Chapter 3

"Schu. Can we get a pet?" Nagi asked getting strait to the point.

"A pet?" Schuldig asked, wondering if he'd heard right. "Like an animal?"

"Yeah. Omi just dragged me into the pet store. Schuldig, you should have seen him. The man in there let Omi sit with one of the puppies, and Omi was laughing."

The importance of this dawned on Schuldig almost immediately. "Something small... Something that won't get too big, either.." His first choice was a cat. When he'd lived with humans, they'd always had two or three cats, and he'd learned to like them, but he wasn't sure if Omi would want one. He was running through a list of animals that the pet store sold. "A small dog, or a ferret, or something." he finally decided, and told Loki and Kali of the decision mentally. 

Schuldig back-tracked quickly. "He was laughing?" he asked. He hadn't thought Omi capable. No wonder Nagi was so interested all of a sudden. "AND he dragged you in? I couldn't possibly say no to that, you know..."

Nagi smiled.

"Thank you Schu. I can't wait to see Omi's face." He said then hung up. He put the phone away and hurried back to Omi.

The sheer relief was clear on Omi's face when Nagi came back. He'd thought for a moment that Nagi was going to take Loki and the twins, and leave him here by himself, with nothing but an order to wait. 

Nagi went over and gave him a hug.

"Sorry about that." He smiled. "I had to call Schuldig and ask him something." He said still smiling. "I have a question for you Omi. If you chould choose one animal out of that pet store. What would it be?"

Omi smiled at the hug, hugging him back briefly. He frowned at Nagi's question. His first reaction was the puppy he'd seen, but Schuldig had spoken to him almost as Nagi was, and he knew that not only were they serious, they wanted him to choose. Schuldig didn't want something too big, though. "I..don't know..." He said. He didn't. He'd never been given something like this before. He wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

Loki herded the twins into a quiet corner. "Omi's going to get a pet," he informed them.

Hoshi and Tomo blinked at him.

"A pet? Why does Omi get a pet?" Hoshi asked pouting.

"Yeah, that's not fair. Schuldig never let us have a pet." Tomo said also pouting.

Nagi smiled. "It's okay. You don't have to deside right this second. You can go back in there and look at all the pets before picking one if you want."

"I thought you'd be happy that there'd be something else for you two to play with," Loki said. "And Schuldig never let you get a pet because you're still too little to take care of an animal like it needs it. Omi's not. And Schuldig said that when Omi saw them, he was laughing. In a couple years, we'll see about getting you two a pet, too, even if I have to claim that it's mine." he said.

"Okay" They said.

"Loki, do you think Omi will let us help him take care of his pet?" Tomo asked. He was a little upset that Schuldig woulnd't let them get pets but if it made Omi happy, then Tomo wasn't going to complatin about it.

Loki nodded. "Omi's going to need help with it. I'm sure you two will do a good job." Loki said.

Nagi took Omi's hand and led him back into the petshop. "Pick whatever you want."

The friendly man came back over, smiling. "Did you decide you wanted one?" He asked. "Would you like a puppy? A kitten? We have rabbits and ferrets and guinea pigs, too." Omi processed the information, filing it away. He noticed a rack with several books on it. "May I... may I read?" he asked, shyly, motioning them. The man nods, and lets him flip the books. 

/I would like fish someday/ Omi thought, looking at the pretty pictures. He jumped when he realized he was doing the impossible. He was making a decision for HIMSELF. The fish made him happy, and he wanted them. His mood lifted further, and with a smile, he looked through the other books. Just from being in the pet store he knew that birds made a lot of noise. He didn't want to disturb anyone else with his pet, and he wanted something that could play with him, too. A puppy would require a LOT of work, and he was just barely learning to take care of himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle something else, too, despite how he loved the puppies. 

Setting the books down, he wandered into the shop a little ways, more than he'd gone the first time. He looked at each animal closely, and thought about everything the books had told him. After several moments, he decided on a black kitten. Kneeling down next to the kennel the kitten was contained in, he grinned, and pointed. "this one," he said. The kitten licked his fingers through the 'cage'. 

Nagi went over to him and looked at the kitten.

"Aww, that one's cute." He said.

Omi smiled. "Can I?"

Nagi nodded. "yes, I think a kitten would make a very good pet. And it's not to big, so Schuldig won't pitch a fit." Nagi said smiling.

The man took the kitten out, briefed them on the care and feeding of a kitten, and gave them supplies like food and a litter box and litter. He gave it a pill for any diseases it may have had, and put it in a small cardboard box that Omi could carry easily. He handed the bags to Nagi after they paid, and smiling, waved them off again. Omi was rocked to his core to see a barcode on the mans inner arm. He was a slave...

Afterwards, Omi was more interested in the kitten than getting himself more clothes, and tried to work up the courage to ask if they could leave.

"Okay, I think we should find where Loki and the twins are. I think we'll stop for lunch on the way home. How does that sound to you?" Nagi asked looking at Omi.

Omi blinked up at him. "How..?" He stopped. "Yes." he nodded.

"So, what are you going to name the kitten?" Nagi asked as he looked around to see if Loki and the twins were anywhere near them.

"...Schwarz." Omi said after a few silent moments deliberation. Black, like his fur. like the world a slave must exist in.

"That's a good name." He said after a moment. When he turned back around though, he was attacked by the twins. Hoshi and Tomo jumped on Nagi and hugged him.

"Nagi! Look what we got!" Tomo said and held up a bag that had a couple new toys in it, along with a thing of bubbles. Nagi blinked and then looked at Loki.

Omi flushed, glad that Nagi liked the name. He'd decided on it the moment he'd laid eyes on the kitten, the moment he'd decided that it was going to be his. Schwarz was his world, but Nagi was quickly becoming his life. Liebe, he decided again, for Nagi. Liebe would be the private name that only he called the kitten, that only he knew of.

Loki shrugged sheepishly, and held up a bag of clothes for the twins. He'd taken it upon himself to get Omi some clothes, too, knowing that after the introduction of the cat, they wouldn't be too focused on anything else.

Hoshi and Tomo went over and looked at Omi's cat.

"It's so cute!" Tomo said and looked up at Omi. "Can I hold it? Please?"

"Not right now Tomo." Nagi said. "Let Omi have some time with his kitten first. Come on, let's go get some lunch, then head home."

In the back seat of the car, Omi let the twins hold and pet the kitten while Nagi and Loki weren't looking. He gave them each an equal amount of time with it in their laps before returning it to the box so it could sleep. Diagnostics proved that it was a male cat of about nine and a half weeks of age, and in excellent health. He smiled, thinking about how much had changed just in that one trip to the mall. 

Schuldig was outside waiting for them when they returned home, and he helped them carry in the bags. Omi woke his kitten up, set up a corner for the food and the litterbox, showed him where they were, and followed him around as he made the rounds, exploring. 

Nagi was sitting in the living room smiling as he watched Omi follow the kitten around. /That has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen./ Nagi thought. And because his connection transmitter had been on the fritz lately, he wound up sharing that thought with everyone in the house.

Kali rolled off her bed laughing, having just thought the same thing two seconds ago as Omi and kitten wandered past her room. Schuldig and Loki had similar - if less violent - reactions. Schuldig snapped off a few pictures of it, and Omi, having no idea at all about what he was talking about, largely ignored him.

Nagi blinked his face turning bright red when he heard Kali laughing.

The twins came bouncing in giggling. The each got on a side of Omi smirking at him. Nagi glanced at them. "You think Omi is cute?" Hoshi asked. Nagi glared at him.

"No." /...yes.../ He thought hoping that his comunicator was turned off. But when the twins giggled more Nagi realized it wasn't. "SCHULDIG!" Nagi called, he wanted Schuldig to fix it, right now.

Schuldig came in wiping his hands. The smirk was dripping off his face. "Yes?" He came into the room and started laughing. Omi was on his hands and knees, reaching under the couch for the kitten. 

"Come here little one," he said quietly. 

-Nagi, turn around,- Schuldig said, pointing.

Nagi blinked and turned around. He snickered when he saw Omi. He looked back around and bent down looking under the front of the couch. He saw Omi, and then the kitten. He reached under and grabbed the kitten gently. He turned back around. "Looking for this?" He asked.

Omi straightened, and flushed. "yes," he said.

Tomo and Hoshi smiled and looked at eachother before looking at Omi, then Nagi. Their smirk looked slightly evil. They bounced around and went over to Omi, leaning down Hoshi whispered in his ear.

("Omi, did you know that Nagi has a crush on you? He think's your really cute.") He said. Tomo giggled and Nagi blinked at them wondering what they were telling Omi.

Omi's head tilted to one side like a dog that didn't understand. "Crush?" It tilted to the other side. "Cute?" His voice wasn't quite a whisper, but it was quiet enough that only Tomo and Hoshi would hear. 

Schuldig pulled Nagi down into the repair shop. "I'll have to put you under to fix this... It's inside your mind, and it's going to take a while. You'll still have free reign of the house through the System, but you won't be able to touch anything. Should give you ample opportunity to spy on Omi. I'm going to suggest he take a shower later, if you want to watch him." Androids were as human as ... well... humans, in that regard. Sex was sex, and sleeping with an android was much the same as sleeping with a real human, except that it was harder for androids to 'fake it.' 

"Alright." Nagi said, his face going redder. "And I'm not going to spy on Omi! And deffinitly not watch him take a shower." Nagi snapped. /...although the thought is tempting./

Tomo and Hoshi were practicly rolling on the floor. It was very rare that Nagi took an intrest in someone, but it was very amusing when he did. And the twins always had fun with it.

"Yeah, a crush." Hoshi said and tried to think of the best way to explain what a crush was.

"A crush is when you like someone a LOT. And you want to be near that person, and you like the way that person looks. And it makes you happy to be around them." Tomo said. "And cute...cute is like your kitten. It's soft and fluffy, and well...cute." Tomo said and scratched his head. "I don't think I explained that to well..."

Omi blinked, understanding. "Cute is... attractive?" he asked, wanting to make sure. /Nagi likes me/ he thought, and smiled. /Nagi wants to be around me. He finds me pleasing to look at.../ 

Schuldig smirked. "He won't mind. He finds it flattering, although he doesn't know it." Schuldig had worked on himself enough that he was highly advanced when compared to normal bio-androids, and his ability to pick up on thoughts was incredible. -Omi...-

Omi was the only one who heard Schuldig, and froze, unfocusing. To an outsider it would look as if he suddenly zoned out. -You should take a shower. Do you know how to work it?- Assent. -Nagi wants to watch you.- 

/Watch me/ he asked. -Watch you in the shower.- /Oh. Okay./

Omi put the kitten in his room where it promptly fell asleep, and went into the bathroom. Schuldig did a quick rewiring of the house camera's and screens, so Nagi's consciousness would be focused in the bathroom Omi was in. That done, he put Nagi 'under' so that his conscious mind would be removed from his body while he was being worked on. While he was 'under' he wouldn't be able to move from the bathroom. Schuldig smirked. 

When Nagi first found himself in the bathroom, he tried to move out and go to the kitchen, or somewhere other then there. When he found he couldn't, he was going to have to scream at Schuldig later.

Hoshi and Tomo nodded. "Yes, cute is attractive!" Hoshi said smiling.

Omi had smiled back at them from the bathroom door, and went inside. He figured out the controls fairly easily, and stepped out of Nagi's borrowed clothes. He nearly left them on the floor, then thought better of it. "Nagi's," he murmured, unaware of Schuldig's game, and picked them up to fold them. Standing nude before the mirror, he looked at himself. /Nagi finds me... attractive.../ he thought, and smiled. 

/Schuldig is an ass, I'm going to get him for this. The last thing Omi needs is someone watching him while he's in the shower./ Nagi grumbled to himself, but he was looking Omi over, and found him to be even more attractive with no clothes on. Nagi mentaly kicked him self for that thought. /Schuldig had better hurry up and fix my body./

-It's going to be several hours, kid.- Schuldig said, half teasing, half serious.

Omi stepped under the water, and leaned his head back, getting himself wet. It had been a while since his last good shower, and he sighed happily under the water.

/I am so going to punch you as soon as I'm back in my body Schuldig. I really am./ Nagi said, trying to look anywhere in the bathroom. But it was a small bathroom, and even if he looked at the mirror, he could still see Omi. He actually had a better view of Omi by looking in the mirror.

Schuldig simply laughed, and began working on what needed to be fixed, tuning everything else out. 

Omi, more comfortable by himself than with anyone else around, started singing. It was just a simple lulluby, but it was one of the things that was purely HIS. It was one of the few things that his masters had never beaten out of him, and he sang as he washed his hair.

Nagi smiled as he watched. Omi really was cute, and Nagi never would have thought he was one to sing in the shower. Nagi liked Omi's voice, but when he was around other people, he always seemed shy, and uncertian of himself. Nagi hoped that time here would change that, for the better.

Still unaware that he wasn't as alone as he thought he was, Omi let more of himself out from behind the mask that kept him alive as a slave. He realized he was tired of it, tired of being terrified, tired of everything. He wanted to live like Tomo and Hoshi, like Schuldig, Kali, and Loki. Like... "...Nagi..."

Before he realized what was happening, he leaned against the shower walls, and started crying. /Why couldn't we be human/ he wondered. /Why did we have to be slaves.../

Nagi wished he could reach out and hug Omi. He wanted to know why he was crying, he didn't like seeing other 'slaves' hurt, or have so hard of a life that they couldn't tell what they wanted any more. Nagi vagly remembered being like that. He knew he was bad when Schuldig first picked him up, and he knew that Schuldig had to replace a lot of his parts. And even though he said his memory had still been intact, it wasn't all there. And Nagi was sure if it had been there, he would have been as bad as Omi is now. If not worce. And it was because he knew that, that he didn't like seeing Omi sad. And he wanted to be there for him, he wanted to help him.

Before too long, Omi pulled himself together, and finished washing. He wrapped a towel around his waist, and got out. He stared into the mirror again for a moment, then dried off, and dressed. 

He was in longer than he'd thought, or Schuldig was finished quicker than he'd imagined he'd be, because shortly after Omi was finished with his shower, Schuldig pulled Nagi back into his body. "You should be all fixed, he said, and beat a hasty retreat.

Omi dressed in the night clothes that Nagi had brought for him the night before, and was curled up on his bed around Schwarz, humming.

Nagi growled and chased Schuldig out. "You just wait! I'll put bolts in your food!" Nagi called after him before he turned and went upstairs to see how Omi was doing.

Schuldig laughed as he ducked into the kitchen. "You enjoyed it!" he called back. 

Omi largely ignored the noise from the rest of the house, still curled around his kitten, petting it. Schwarz was making a clicking sound in his chest, what would one day become a purr when he was big enough for it to rumble. 

Nagi knocked softly on the door.

Omi jumped. "Yes..?"

Nagi slowly opened the door and peeked in. "Hi." he said smiling a little.

Omi's surprise melted into a smile. "Hello," he said calmly. "Are you feeling better?"

Nagi nodded. "Yeah, Schuldig fixed the problem." He said tapping his head as he came in. "How are you doing?"

"Good. I think Schwarz is hungry..." He said, and the little kitten gave a lion sized yawn.  
Nagi smiled at Schwarz then looked back at Omi. "Are you sure you're okay? I saw you crying in the bathroom..." Nagi said and blushed.

Omi blinked owlishly. "I wasn't crying," he said quietly, a blatant lie, but he didn't know how Nagi had been watching.

"I saw you." Nagi said again.

Omi's eyes widened. Nagi MUST have seen him, somehow. He wasn't bothered by the fact that Nagi was spying on him in the shower so much as he was by the fact that Nagi had seen him cry. "I..." he started, afraid that Nagi would be angry with him.

"It's okay." Nagi reasured him. "I was just worried about you, that's all. And I wanted to make sure you were okay now."

Omi relaxed. "I'm okay." he said, not offering up anything else. /Nagi was worried about me because he likes me/ he thought, putting things together.

Nagi smiled and went over hugging him. "If you ever need to talk, you can always talk to me." He said and smiled at him.

"About what?" Omi asked, curious. 

"Anything. LIke if there is something you don't understand, or if you just don't want to be alone."

"I'm never alone," Omi said.

Nagi sighed and looked down a little. He was trying to get Omi to open up to him at least a little. /I guess it's a little to soon for that./ He thought but smiled at Omi anyway. "Alright. Just...remember, if you ever need to talk, I'm right across the hall." He said and kissed Omi's cheek. "I'm going to make something to eat, would you like to join me?"

Omi blinked at the kiss, and tilted his head. "Err... Sure?" he said, a little uncertainly. He realized that he was already starting to change the way he thought about things. The episodes in the mall had changed something deep inside his wiring, and he was scared of it.

"Anything specific you want to eat?"

Omi thought this over, and shook his head. He smiled, and got to his feet. "Anything you want to make is fine," he glanced down at his feet. "Nagi... I want to talk to you. Tell me things we can talk about."

"We can talk about anything really. We can talk about what we like, or what we don't like. We can talk about things we've seen," Nagi said, smiling a little.

"I would... Would you... Please... Tell me what you like?" Omi asked, shyly. /He likes me. But what else../ he wondered.

"Well, I like computers. I used to watch Schuldig in the workshop when the twins first came here. I watched all the things he could do with the computers, so I started learning how to do that. I also like to cook. But I think that's just because it was programed into me." Nagi said and thought for a few seconds. "I also like being with my friends. And family. All my friends in this house have become my family. And even though they annoy me, I still don't know what I would do without them."

"The twins...?" Omi asked, forcing the words out. "Schuldig?" he followed him out to the kitchen as they talked. "I don't know what I like," he whispered. "I like being able to eat... And not getting hit. But I don't think it's the same." Again the earlier thought came back to him, and he slumped down into a chair. /I wish I was never a slave... I wish I could be like Schuldig and Nagi...I wish... I were human.../ 

Nagi sighed. "Omi, you are human. Just because you were created instead of born, dosn't make you any less human then anyone else. You can think for yourself. You just prooved that by saying you wish you were human. If you were just a slave, another android, then you wouldn't be able to think for yourself, all your thoughts would have been programed into you."

Omi glanced up, giving him a smile, and opened up his forearm where the screens kept a watch on everything that went on in his body. "No," he said softly. "Not human." He stared at his arm a bit more, then sadly got up and wandered out. An idea occurred to him and he padded downstairs to the basement, where Schuldig was hiding from Nagi. 

"Can I help you?" He asked. Omi nodded, and he sat up. 

"I want you to do something for me," Omi said. 


End file.
